Council amends telecommuting policy to grandfather three remote employees in elected treasurer's office amid pending litigation

Beaufort County Council voted Tuesday to amend its proposed telecommuting and telework policy to exempt three existing virtual employees in the elected treasurer's office, and then approved the policy as amended.

The item brought the council into executive session for legal advice on pending litigation involving the treasurer's office. After returning to open session, Treasurer Maria Walls identified herself and detailed her office's experience with virtual employees, saying the treasurer's office has used virtual staff since 2017 and three out-of-state employees have handled a substantial share of customer interactions. "These team members alone have handled 52,000 customer interactions," Walls said, adding that the office's collection rate exceeds 99% and that the remote staffing model reduced turnover and vacancy costs.

Walls told council that a December 2024 circuit-court order, which she said prohibits county actions that would negatively impact her out-of-state employees, had prompted litigation and that adopting the policy without an exemption for elected offices would force her to pursue contempt proceedings. She asked council to amend the proposed policy to exempt elected offices or, at minimum, to grandfather current remote employees so the litigation could be resolved without immediate employee terminations.

Council members debated the motion and the policy's broader implications for county staffing and precedent. Several council members said they favored a temporary grandfathering approach to avoid further litigation costs (one council member estimated litigation expenses over $450,000). The council approved a motion to grandfather the treasurer's three virtual employees and subsequently approved the telecommuting policy as amended; roll calls were recorded for both actions.

Why it matters: The vote directly affects the employment status of three current virtual employees in an elected office and has budgetary and legal implications because litigation is pending. Council members said they sought to avoid additional taxpayer expense while the courts resolve the underlying dispute.

What comes next: The county will implement Policy 3.3 with the grandfathering provision for the three named positions in the treasurer's office and staff will continue to work on compliance and any necessary payroll solutions while litigation proceeds.